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http://loveoftheday.blogspot.com/

Baron Davis FRAMED -- One Shot

This just makes me so unnaturally happy, I can't explain it.

Baron Davis (Warrior's Point Guard) - One Shot
by PeteRock

Did You Know?

Crazy stuff...

Hadith of the Week 19

Narrated by Abu Huraira:
Allah's Apostle said, "The strong is not the one who overcomes the people by his strength, but the strong is the one who controls himself while in anger."

[Bukhari]

Salam Cafe - Working With A Muslim

From The Australian Comedy Chat Show "Salam Cafe" a short comedy piece on muslims in the workplace.

Hm... I should check out this show...

A Quiet Revolution Grows in the Muslim World (Time Magazine)

Read it all here

Highlights below:

That sentiment is echoed around the Muslim world. In many of the scores of countries that are predominantly Muslim, the latest generation of activists is redefining society in novel ways. This new soft revolution is distinct from three earlier waves of change--the Islamic revival of the 1970s, the rise of extremism in the 1980s and the growth of Muslim political parties in the 1990s.

Today's revolution is more vibrantly Islamic than ever. Yet it is also decidedly antijihadist and ambivalent about Islamist political parties. Culturally, it is deeply conservative, but its goal is to adapt to the 21st century. Politically, it rejects secularism and Westernization but craves changes compatible with modern global trends. The soft revolution is more about groping for identity and direction than expressing piety. The new revolutionaries are synthesizing Koranic values with the ways of life spawned by the Internet, satellite television and Facebook. For them, Islam, you might say, is the path to change rather than the goal itself.

Disillusioned with extremists who can destroy but who fail to construct alternatives that improve daily life, members of the post-9/11 generation are increasingly relying on Islamic values rather than on a religion-based ideology to advance their aims. And importantly, the soft revolution has generated a new self-confidence among Muslims and a sense that the answers to their problems lie within their own faith and community rather than in the outside world. The revolution is about reform in a conservative package.

Traditional clerics deride al-Shugairi, 35, and other televangelists for preaching "easy Islam," "yuppie Islam," even "Western Islam." But his message actually reflects a deepening conservatism in the Islamic world, even as activists use contemporary examples and modern technology to make their case. One of al-Shugairi's programs on happiness focused on Elvis Presley, a man with fame, talent and fortune but who died young. Life without deep spirituality, al-Shugairi preaches, is empty.

Politics is not the only focus of the soft revolution. Its most fundamental impact, indeed, may be on the faith itself.

...

Later this year, the Turkish scholars are expected to publish six volumes that reject thousands of Islam's most controversial practices, from stoning adulterers to honor killings. Some hadith, the scholars contend, are unsubstantiated; others were just invented to manipulate society.

This is perhaps the most intellectually active period for the faith since the height of Islamic scholarship in the Middle Ages. "There is more self-confidence in the Islamic world about dealing with reason, constitutionalism, science and other big issues that define modern society," says Ibrahim Kalin of the Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research in Ankara. "The West is no longer the only worldview to look up to. There are other ways of sharing the world and negotiating your place in it."

Many young Muslims are angry at the outside world's support of corrupt and autocratic regimes despite pledges to push for democracy after 9/11. "Most of the young feel the West betrayed its promises," says Dhillon, of the Brookings Institution. Muslims fume that a few perpetrators of violence have led the outside world to suspect a whole generation of supporting terrorism. "The only source of identity they have is being attacked," Dhillon says. The post-9/11 generation has been further shaped by wars in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon and Gaza, all of which Washington played a direct or indirect role in.

The Gitmo Guard Who Found Islam (Newsweek)

Terry Holdbrooks stood watch over prisoners at Gitmo. What he saw made him adopt their faith.

SubhanAllah, such an incredible story.

Hadith of the Week 18

The Messenger of Allah (sallallahu alaihi wasallam) said:

"No slave veils another slave in this world without Allah veiling him on the Day of Rising."

[Muslim]

Hadith of the Week 17

Narrated by AbuHurayrah:
Allah's Apostle (peace be upon him) said: "Do you know what is backbiting?"

They (the Companions) said: "Allah and His Apostle (peace be upon him) know best."

Thereupon he (the Prophet) said: "Backbiting implies your talking about your brother in a manner which he does not like."

It was said to him: "What is your opinion about this that if I actually find (that failing) in my brother which I made a mention of?"

He said: "If (that failing) is actually found (in him) what you assert, you in fact backbited him, and if that is not in him it is a slander."

[Muslim]

New Muslim Cool (Trailer)

See more at www.NewMuslimCool.com. Coming to national PBS this June, NEW MUSLIM COOl follows three years in the lives of Puerto Rican American Muslim hip-hop artist Hamza Pérez, his family, and community. Taking viewers on a ride through the streets, projects, and jail cells of urban America, the film follows Hamza's spiritual journey as he finds new discoveries and friends in some surprising places -- where we can all see ourselves reflected in a world that never stops changing.

Hadith of the Week 16

The Messenger of God (saw) said, "A believer is not one who eats his fill while his next door neighbor goes hungry." [Al-Bukhari]

A Response to "Growth + Times = Dilution of Islamic Practice? by Aysha Khanom"

It would probably help if you read the article first, eh?

I wasn't particularly a fan of the article, aside from the fact that I thought it did an excellent job of summarizing a viewpoint that I disagreed with.

Mostly, I disagreed with her contention that making Islam accommodating for others is "diluting" our deen; on the contrary, I personally feel like that it's upholding it. But, of course, there's things that are pretty set and there's areas that allow for wiggle room.

This is probably inadvertent, but I feel that her intro can be construed in a way to imply that the problems we face today weren't issues in the time of the Prophet (saw). While questions like "is this halal/haram" were answered by the Prophet (saw) (whereas in current times, we often face difficulty in attaining 'ismah on topics), even the community of the Prophet (saw)'s time was plagued with people who sinned regularly, were outright hypocrites, came to Islam for little more than political gain, etc etc (and Allah swt knows best what was in their hearts). How did the Prophet (saw) deal with them?

On the flip side, I completely agree with her in being disturbed by the trends where people feel the need to justify their "bad behavior" by changing the rules.... "hijab is hard for me" becomes 'hijab isn't fard" or "hijab is a bidah." However, I feel like this type of behavior comes about by the mentality where, "if you don't follow these rules, then you're not Muslim" -- rather than leave Islam altogether, people opt to change it. That being said, I still think it's stupid and toxic.

All in all, I think humility (in our own knowledge, actions and souls), when dealing with others and imposing our beliefs on the community is imperative... for both sides. Which is just... subhanAllah... especially bearing in mind the countless ayahs in the Quran and hadith warning us against arrogance and pride... For one:

The Messenger of God (saw) said, "Practice humility until no one oppresses or belittles another." [Muslim]

Finally, an excellent article that touches on this topic: "The Etiquette of Disagreement" by Dr. Sherman Abdul-Hakim Jackson.

NYTimes.com: Poll Finds U.S. Muslims Thriving, but Not Content

I mean, you might as well read the whole thing, considering I quoted most of it below...


Highlights:

A Gallup poll of Muslims in the United States has found that they are far more likely than people in Muslim countries to see themselves as thriving.

...

And yet, within the United States, Muslims are the least content religious group, when compared with Jews, Mormons, Protestants and Roman Catholics.

Gallup researchers say that is because the largest segment of American Muslims are African-Americans (35 percent, including first-generation immigrants), and they generally report lower levels of income, education, employment and well-being than other Americans.

A Gallup poll of Muslims in the United States has found that they are far more likely than people in Muslim countries to see themselves as thriving.

American Muslim women, contrary to stereotype, are more likely than American Muslim men to have college and post-graduate degrees.

Muslim women in the United States attend mosque as frequently as Muslim men — a contrast with many Muslim countries where the mosques are primarily for men. American Muslims are generally very religious, saying that religion is an important part of their daily lives (80 percent), more than any other group except Mormons (85 percent). The figure for Americans in general is 65 percent.

Lower percentages of Muslims register to vote or volunteer their time than adherents of other faiths.

That is just retarded. Friggin' Muslims.